My Story with Type 1 Diabetes
It all started when I was in Maine, visiting family and getting my annual cancer check-up. At this point, my endocrinologist had cleared me and, I was cancer-free. (Yay!) Then I started to feel tired, almost to the point where I was going to faint. I was at my grandfatherβs service β he passed away in January β and I had no idea what was going on, I was crying, and I was confused. My momβs friends took me back to the campground where we were staying. They made me eat before I was allowed to go to sleep. I was not hungry but, I ate anyway. I fell asleep and slept for sixteen hours. I woke up the following morning exhausted still. We just thought it was because of all of the energy I had been exerting. When we went home that weekend, I started to have a sore throat and, I was even more tired than before. Everything was fog and, I couldnβt tell what was going on. About a week later, I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain I had ever felt in my ear. I ran to my parentβs room and woke them up. We went to the doctor the next day and, they gave me antibiotics for an ear infection. They didnβt work. We waited a week and, they still didnβt kick in, so we went back to the doctor. This time I couldnβt smell anything and, I was losing my taste. The doctor checked my ear and said that there was no possible way I had an ear infection and, he didnβt know why the other doctor prescribed me antibiotics. They gave me a COVID test which I fought a little bit. I resisted for about 15 minutes but, I eventually did it. I was told to quarantine until we got my test results back. We waited a day like we were told to do and we didnβt get any response, so we went to the beach. While we were at the beach, my mom called and said she wanted to talk to my dad and me. At that moment, I just knew I had COVID. I started crying. We packed up from the beach and headed home. When we got home it was chaos. We were trying to figure out what we were going to do and who was going quarantine. I either had to stay in my room or have a mask on at all times. Fast forward a week. I am having trouble breathing and, I can barely make it up the stairs. So we head back to the doctor and, the doctor sends me to the ED (emergency department). When we get there, we waited for almost an hour to be called back. Around 12:30 they call me back. They hooked me up to all the special machines. They eventually β after fighting with them β took bloodwork.
When they checked my heart rate it was normal when I was sitting, but when I was walking, it was over 200. They hooked me up to fluids and had me walk again. I was back to normal β at least my heart rate was. My bloodwork came back in and my blood sugar was over 350. It is supposed to be within a range from 80β150. The doctors told my parents I had diabetes. My parents said there was no way and that they would not believe it until they ran more tests. They ran my A1C and it was off the charts. My blood sugar had been like this for a while. That night, around 1:00 a.m. they admitted me for diabetic ketoacidosis. I was so scared. While I was still in the emergency room, they gave me an inulin injection. It didnβt hurt at all. It went in the back of my arm. They took my blood sugar every 3 hours with a finger prick and, if I ate or my sugar was too high, they would give me insulin. Eventually, I got used to it. Keep in mind, I still had COVID so, I was in the COVID pod on the diabetes unit. I was up all night long with finger pricks and insulin shots. The next day they had infectious control come in and, they discussed monoclonal antibodies. I was going to get the infusion to help me fight COVID. I had an hour and a half of infusions that day.
I decorated my room because I didnβt know how long I would be there. So I put my yellow blanket on the bed with my bear that my grandfather gave to me when I had cancer. I organized every part of that room that I could. I had all my papers organized and all of my insulin and supplies.
The next day my endocrinologist told me I was going to get a constant glucose monitor (CGM). It would stick to my arm and it would transmit my blood sugar levels to my phone and a receiver. I was so scared it was going to hurt. I mean Iβve seen videos of people putting theirs on and they flinch so bad. But when I got mine it looked super scary. I told her I would count to three and she would push the button to inject it into my arm. I didnβt even flinch. It was barely a bee sting. It can be put on your stomach, arms, or thighs. I prefer mine to be on the back of my arm. I ended up buying cute stickers for it to cover the white part. I currently have an adorable pumpkin design β thanks to expressionmed.
I was taught how to count my carbs and calculate how many units of insulin I would get with each meal. Slowly the insulin after every meal was making my sugar drop so I was taken off of that. Now the long-acting insulin that I take is making my sugar drop too low so I am being taken off of that also. Thatβs my story so far with type one. Thanks for reading!
